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At the beginning of his tenure, U.S. President Joe Biden set out his vision for foreign policy: to restore respected leadership in the United States around the world; Take immediate steps to renew US alliances; and to strengthen the coalition of democracies. The Achilles heel of this optimistic plan and its credibility are Washington’s anachronistic relationship with the State of Israel.
This special relationship is a relic of the Cold War, which the US unconditionally supported – militarily and politically – as well as the military governments and dictatorial regimes involved in serious human rights violations. Thus, within Israel’s borders is a state that grants political and economic privileges to the Jewish majority, and in the West Bank there is an Israeli military dictatorship that operates on the same methods as colonialist regimes, most of them in the last century.
Recently, two acclaimed organizations, Human Rights Watch and B’Tselem, accused Palestinians of committing apartheid crimes against the state of Israel. This, however, did not result in a policy change in Washington.
For decades, the U.S. has maintained a bubble of complete impunity for successive Israeli governments, both in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and within Israel’s borders. Israel has extended unconditional support to the United Nations Security Council and has provided military assistance every year. The Israeli state is the largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid, providing about $ 146 billion since its inception in 1948.
Although the U.S. has often denounced human rights violations and the deterioration of democratic values and democratic institutions around the world, it has hardly made any criticism of the horrific state problems in the occupied Israeli and Palestinian territories.
The US has strongly condemned it and even the Bashar al-Assad regime has acted against the bombing of civilians in Syria, but has said nothing about Israeli airstrikes in Gaza headquarters or the demolition of occupied Palestinian houses in East Jerusalem. West Bank. The U.S. has also spoken out against the ethnic cleansing of wounded and killed Protestants in Myanmar and the Rohingya, but has remained silent about Israelis injuring and killing protesters in the West Bank and Gaza and displaced homes in the east that are forcibly displacing Palestinians. Jerusalem, Jordan Valley and Khan al-Ahmar.
Even when former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu turned racism into a policy in the face of the Palestinian population and Jewish dominance, Washington was the mother.
Under his watch, the Knesset passed the law of the nation-state, which only designated Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people, while supporters of ethnic cleansing and hate crimes against Palestinians rose to positions of power. In addition to weakening state institutions, the Knesset, in addition to undermining the independence of security agencies and the judiciary, also participated in various corruption schemes. However, Washington continued to welcome Netanyahu to the “club of democratic leaders.”
The new Israeli government, which ended Netanyahu’s 13-year term, offers an important opportunity to restart US-Israel relations. To balance the dynamics between the two countries, many changes need to be made, but there are some steps the U.S. government can take immediately to begin this process.
First, the Biden administration should heed the call of Palestinian, Israeli, and American activists because of Israel’s commitment to protecting human rights and international law to condition U.S. funding. If the human rights of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza continue to be violated, the flow of U.S. aid should be stopped immediately.
Second, the Biden administration should demand that the Israeli government stop illegal evictions of hundreds of Palestinian residents from occupied homes in East Jerusalem.
Third, the Biden administration should demand that the Israeli government repeal the law of nation-states, which provides a legal cover for the illegal discrimination of Israeli Palestinian citizens.
Fourth, the Biden administration should demand that the Israeli government rescind the 101st military order passed in 1967, which bans any protest in the occupied West Bank without the consent of the Israeli army – a permit that has never been known. Given to Palestinians in 54 years of occupation. Palestinians must be given the opportunity to make non-violent protests against the occupation and the military dictatorship of Israel, freely and without restriction.
It should be noted that none of these are exceptional measures. In fact, U.S. laws, such as the Foreign Aid Act of 1961 and others, condition foreign aid in the fulfillment of a country’s commitments to human rights and international law. The US has often conditioned foreign aid and there is no reason to side with Israel.
By taking these measures, the U.S. will end its dual-rule policy that favors the State of Israel over the rest of the U.S. with close ties. It should be clear by now that Biden and his group are not helping the Israeli state and army to allow impunity for the people living in Israel and only serve to fuel the endless cycle of violence suffered by Palestinians and Israelis.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the attitude of Al Jazeera’s editorial.
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